Horrific collision between SUV, bike kills 14-year-old Brockton boy

Wednesday

Oct 19, 2016 at 12:01 AMOct 19, 2016 at 10:56 AM

The boy was riding a bicycle when he was fatally struck by a Silver Ford Escape driven by a young man around 6:42 p.m. on Tuesday at 1320 Main St., between Brockton Food Mart and the Teen Challenge Brockton campus in Brockton.

Marc Larocque Enterprise Staff Writer @Enterprise_Marc

BROCKTON — The person struck by an SUV on a city street and killed Tuesday evening has been identified as a 14-year-old Brockton boy.

The boy was riding a bicycle when he was fatally struck by a silver Ford Escape SUV driven by a young man around 6:42 p.m. on Tuesday at 1305 Main St., in between Brockton Food Mart and the Teen Challenge campus in Brockton.

The Plymouth County District Attorney’s office issued a statement shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday, identifying the victim as Madio Jalo, 14, of Brockton.

Madio was a freshman at Brockton High School, but has siblings in the city's elementary and middle schools, according to city officials.

Brockton High Principal Sharon Wolder met with the district's crisis team Wednesday morning and there will be grief counselors in at least three schools to support students.

A single rose and a stuffed animal between two utility poles were all that remained on Main Street the morning after Madio was killed.

As of Wednesday morning, police were not able to provide any additional information about the nature of the crash. The investigation has been taken over by a state police unit assigned to the district attorney's office, Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter said.

The driver, an older teenager, has not been charged and the district attorney is withholding his identity at this time. He was overheard telling police at the scene that he was going home by himself after visiting his girlfriend.

The driver, wearing a gray T-shirt and gym shorts, could be seen sobbing as he discussed the crash with investigators. He then put both hands on his head, as if he was going to pull his hair out. He was then taken to the hospital as a precaution, Carpenter said.

The victim's identity remained a mystery for hours after the accident.

Kevin Karo, the new athletic director for Brockton High School, was seen looking at images on a phone, as he helped police try to identify the victim. At one point, generator-powered portable lights were set up temporarily at the scene, as investigators continued their efforts. Karo and other school officials were trying to use the Infinite Campus database used by Brockton Public Schools to find a matching picture of a student on file, said the city's mayor.

"He was not carrying any ID," said Carpenter, who arrived at the scene soon after the fatal collision. "(Karo) worked at a middle school two blocks away, South Middle School, and he was there for about 10 years, so that was our first thought. But he was not immediately able to come up with an ID. So we're now circulating with some other school officials."

Nicholas Catanese, who lives in Brockton, said the gruesome crash took place before his eyes as he was walking by in the parking lot of Brockton Food Mart.

"The kid was cutting across the street," Catanese said. "The vehicle just slammed on the brakes. It sent him flying 15 feet. ... The person didn't see him coming down the road. The car was going at least 40 (miles per hour). The bike spun out ... and it kicked him off the bike, but his legs got tangled in it. He let go of the handle bars, and he hit the ground head headfirst."

Catanese said the force of impact was so powerful that it knocked off both of the bicyclist's sneakers and sent them flying in different directions, and that the boy's phone was also found on the ground in the area.

"That's how hard they hit him," he said.

Catanese called the bicyclist a "baby," noting that he couldn't have been older than 15 years old.

"It's a sad situation," Catanese said. "I wish the best for his family. My prayers go out for his family."

Manny Lopes, of Brockton, said he shielded the aftermath of the crash from the view of children who were with him.

"I didn't let the kids see it," Lopes said. "I saw the kid. Poor thing. It's sad. ... It just seemed like it was an accident. My condolences to the family."

Tania Texeira, of Brockton, who stopped her car at the scene on her way home from the gym, said the fatal collision makes her want to remind other parents to call their kids home when it gets dark out.

"It's crazy," Texeira said. "Those kids nowadays just pull out when they are on the bike in front of the car. You barely can see them. The street is dark. ... He was so young and had a big future ahead of him. Right now ... it's so sad."

Carpenter said that the general issue of crashes involving pedestrians and bicycles has been a safety issue his administration has worked on since he took office about three years ago.

In 2014, there were nine pedestrian fatalities in Brockton, Carpenter said. Last year, there was one in the city, he said.

"You come to the scenes of some of these types of tragedies – a child on a bicycle, struck and killed," the mayor said. "It doesn't get much tougher than this.

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